Fastening device



Sept. 30, 1952 o. J. POUPITCH FASTENING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28, 1948 Patented Sept. 30, 1952 flu'gljesalules Poupitch, Chicago, 111., assignor m .I-llinois Tool Works, Chicago; 1-11., a-cornoration oil Illinois:

Application December 28, I948 ,Se1 ialfNo 7,623

devicesfare designed to be snapped into position withina workaperture; In other words, a humber of these prior devices employ a shank whichv is adaptedtobe inserted longitudinally so as to automatically snapthe fastener into interlocking association in a work sheet. "There'are applications're'quiring fastening deviceswhich arenot snapped into position, but which must provide a positive interlock between thefastener and the work, The present invention is concerned primarily" with the provision of a simple and. economical' fastener or clip which may be inserted within a work aperture and subsequently rotatedsass-r provide apositive interlock between the fasteneriand the work and rat the. same time provide "means for supporting" another Work strticture as,,"for"'exalnp'1e, a" strip of moulding stockg",., I ,More. specifically, the present invention contemplates a fastener of the type referred to above which may be stamped and, formed from sheet materiaLsuch-as sheet metal, oneportion of. the

fastener providing a latch adapted'to overlie or extend beyond opposite margins of a work apjerture a'ncl another portion or head designed to resiliently bear against the. opposite side of a workpiece, said. head also serving'where necessa ".assan lauxiliary work support. member.

arunhr object of the present invention is to provide a fastener of the type mentioned, in which; one margin. of the insertable latching membemis designed for cammingv engagement with a. lateral extension of the apertured work part asoaswto insure positive overlapping of the work surface by a portion. oithe latchingmember, opposi tely disposed irom' said cam margin. Still more specifically the present invention contemplates a fastening member or clip having the campart just mentioned, wherein a resilient head portion or plate oppositely disposed from the latching member is designed for resilient i clamping-engagement with the work surf-ace.

It .is another object of-the present invention tux-provide the simple yet strong fastener previouslymentioned "which is designed to accommodate applications necessitating. the use of a claims.- (01. is9+ssf moulding stripor' thelike in-the vicinity of the juncture of t wo an'gularlydisposed work surf aces, and to thisend the invention contemplates a fastener which may be rotated in orderto latch it in place, said rotational operation serving auto matically 'to"p'lace"the portion of the fastener under stress overlying relation withurespe'ct to the. area of juncture oi'the work surfaces. *It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotary type clip oriastenerdesigned for 'camming engagement with-a lateral work: extension-and having a resilient head por tion. as" referred toabove'equipped with opposit'ely disposed margins for receiving'="inwardly extending flanges of amoulding strip or the like. The: foregoing and other objects and advan-' tages will. be; more apparent .irom the following detailed description, when considered in connection withthe accompanying-drawing, wherein- "Fig; 1 is a. fragmentary perspective view: of a pair of angularly disposed: work pieces having a moulding strip secured; overlying:relation-v shipf to; the. juncture of saidwork pieces by fast-- ening members-'or clips embodying the; features of they present. invention;

- .Fignzisxa perspective view of one of the clips of-Fig. 1 detached iromthe workparts;

, Fig. 3. likewise. a. perspective" View oisthe". fastener" .or clip-xas. seen. from, the rear of the.

device shown in Fig. 2; 4

Fig, 4 is an. enlarged perspective view. similar. to Fig. 1. with the mouldingfistrip removed: so as: more clearly to illustrate the functionalriand' structural characteristics of' the fasteners, the fastener {at the left being shown in the position which. it occupies upon initial insertion within the work aperture, and the" fastener at'the'right being'shown. in the position which it assumes when it is rotated iromithe position illustrated by thejiastener at the left;

Fig. '5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view being taken substantially :along. the line 5-5 of Fig.4.; a

Fig; 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view takensubstantially along the line 6--E of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7. is: a fragmentary elevational view taken substantially aiongthe line .l-J ofjFigjd;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of. a fastener or clip of slightlyzmodified form, wherein the'lfastener body or head is bowed to lend resilience;

and i V i Fig.9 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 9-9 oiiFigfl; Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals have been employedto designate simiture of the work pieces [2 and I4; a

The clip It includes a'body portion or head which in the particular embodiment may be by the fasteners I 8, and in this positionthe moulding strip I6 superimposes the line of juncstamped conveniently fromsheet metal or the like. The lower margin of the head or plate is bent out of the'plane of said plate andisprovided with a rolled margin or bead 22. The opposite margin of the plate or head 20 is alsoibent slightly out of the plane thereof-:to provide. a lip 24. The material from the center of the, plate 20 is struck out to provide a latching member 25. This latchingmember 26 consists of an elongated portion or arm 28 extending in substantial parallelism withaand spaced-from thehead 2D. The upper or opposite extremity of the latching member 26 is formed with a struck out lug 39 which is positioned in a plane substantiallyv coincident with the plane of the longer arm- 23. Ihe lug 30, being struck from the material of the latching member 26, leaves a double strap support between the latching member and the head and this strap arrangement extends-through the work piece aperture 32 to lend stabilizing support towthe fastener whenit is in mounted position. The amount-of space between the plane of the plate 20xand arm 28 will depend upon the thickness of .thelwork: piece with which the fastener is. to be employed.

.In initially applying the fastener Ill to the work piece I2, thearm 28 is inserted withina complementary aperture 32 of the work piece 12, as clearly illustrated in Fig.5." 7 It-will also be seen that duringthis initial insertionthe fastener body or? plate 20 assumes the position shown. at the .left of Fig. 4. By first inserting the arm 28 through the aperture 32 and.-shift ing the fastener sufficiently to the right; Fig. 5, so as to effect clearance of the'lug with-respect to the marginof the aperture 32,. the entire latching member 25 may be positioned to one side of the work piece 12, as shown. If the fastener lil is now rotated in a clockwise direction, a cam-like edge or margin 34-at. the freel'exment with the outer surface of the work piece I4. This causes the plate or head 20 to be sprung or stressed, thereby causing resilient clamping engagement of the opposite margins of the plate 20 with the complementary surfaces of the work pieces [2 and 14. With the view of reducing frictional resistance to turning, the arm 28 in thevicinity of the 'cam edg'e 34' is provided with a dimple 36. 'This reduces-to a minimum the area of contact between the arm 28 and the inner surface of the work piece [2, and hence contributes to the ease with which the fastener may be rotatably applied in position. I ,After a suitable number of fasteners l0 have been applied in th'e'manner described above, the moulding strip [6 may then be attached by bringingthe upper flange I8 of the moulding strip into overlying and overlooking association with the'lip 24, Fig. 6. This lip 24 is relatively rigid and will not yield to any appreciable extent as the opposite moulding strip flange iii-is sprung over the-bead or rolled margin 22. Thus the opposite margins of thehead or plate 20 function to clampingly hold the opposed margins of the moulding strip firmly in position. I I

In Figs. 8 and 9 a slightly modified form of clip designated generally by the numeral Illa is disclosed This clip differs primarily from the clip H1 in thatthe head or plate portion 20a is provided with bends 38 to give added resiliency in instances where this is found essential. 'The presence of the bends 38 makes it possible for the plate 20a to elongate a suflicient amount to more readily accommodate itself to the worksurfaces.v Itwill also be noted. thatthe opposite margins of the plate 20a are of slightly modified cross-sectional shape. The clip lila is provided with the latching portion 26c made up of an arm 23a andalug 30a. 4 I v .It has been found that in certain instances rotation of the fastener described herein is notnecessary in order to secure the fastener in position. It has been ascertained, for example, that the fastener may be initially inserted] while occupying the position illustrated at the right side of Fig. 4. After this initial insertion, a hammer blow may be applied to the upper lip 24, thereby suddenly urging the fastener down-' wardly. This enables the arm 28, Fig. 6, to be 7 shifted sufiiciently with respect to the aperture 32 so as to cause the lug 30 to clear the upper portion of the fastener. The resiliency of the fastener head is such as to urge the lug 30 inwardly (to the left, Fig. 6) thereby automatically tremity of the arm '28 is brought into engagement With the upper surface-30f the lateral extension |2a of the-work piece 12, see Figs. 6 and 7. As the fastener continuesv to rotate, the cam edge 35 forces the lug 38 into' overlying or overlapping relationship with respect to the-material of the work piece oppositely disposed from that portion of the work piece which issuperimposed by the arm 28.- In other words, the cam action is such' as to shift the fastener upwardly, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and '6, thereby assuring positive latching of the arm 28 and the lug 39 against the inner surface of the work piece I2.

' It will also ben'oted that in the disclosed era-- bodiment, rotation of the fastener as just d'e-' scribed not only results in the camming engagement of the extremityof the latch arm 23 with allateral work extension l2a, but the freerolled margin-22 of the plate i2 is moved into'engagclocating the fastener in position to accommodate the moulding strip I6. I

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention contemplates an improved rotary type fastening device which may be produced by practicing conventional stamping and forming methods, and also which may be produced from flat'sheet stock, such as sheet metal; The device herein described particularly lends itself for use in securing work pieces, such as molding strips, in place. The device is also particularly adaptable in instances where the work piece, such as metallic trim, is required to overly the juncture of two work surfaces. In such instances a portion of the head of the device is flexed as an incident to fastener rotation, and the material of the fastener under stress provides a very firm, yet resilient, lock. The camming action resulting from the engagement of the edge of one of thearms with a laterally exte'ndingwork surface insures a positive interlock of the fastener with the apertured work piece.

aeiaacs While for purposes of illustration, certain specific structural features have been disclosed herein, it should be understood that other modiflcations and changes are in contemplation, and that the invention should only be limited by the v scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A rotary type fastening device including a work engaging plate-like head, an integral latching member struck from within the periphery of said head and including an arm and a complementary opposed lug insertable within a work aperture for contacting a work surface in the vicinity of said aperture oppositely disposed from the surface engageable by said plate-like head, and cam means at the extremity of said arm which is adapted as an incident to rotation experienced by the fastener to cause shifting of the fastener along the plane of the work surface and thereby insure latching association of the lug with the work piece. 7

2. A rotary type fastening device including a work engaging plate-like head, an integral latching member spaced from the plane of said head including an arm and a complementary opposed lug insertable within a work aperture for contacting a'work surface in the vicinity of said aperture oppositely disposed from the surface engageable by said plate-like head, and cam means at the extremity of said arm which is adapted as an incident to rotation experienced by the fastener to cause shifting of the fastener along the plane of the work surface and thereby insure latching association of the lug with the work piece, a marginal portion of said plate-like head being laterally flexible and the opposite marginal portion being relatively rigid.

3. A rotary type fastening device including a work engaging plate-like head, an integral latching member spaced from the plane of. said head including an arm and a complementary opposed lug insertable within a work aperture for contacting a work surface in the vicinity of said aperture oppositely disposed from the surface engageable by said plate-like head, cam means at the extremity of said am which is adapted as an incident to rotation experiencedby the fastener to cause shifting of the fastener along the plane of the work surface and thereby insure latching association of the lug with the work piece-,and means extending laterally from said latching member for making limited area contact with a work piece whereby to reduce frictional resistance to rotation of the fastener.

4. In combination with workpieces, one of which is apertured, said work pieces having angularly disposed surface areas meeting along a common line of juncture, a rotary fastening device including a work engaging plate-like head for superimposing saidline of juncture, an integral latching member spaced from the plane of said head including an arm and a complementary opposed lug extending within an aperture in one of said work pieces and contacting the work surface in the vicinity of said aperture, said latching member bearing against one side of said.

head. a

5. In combination with work pieces, one of which is-apertured, said work pieces having angularly disposed surface areas meeting along a commonline of juncture, and a fastening device including a work engaging plate-like head for overlying the line of juncture, at least one portion of the head being laterally yieldable as an incident to the engagement thereof with one of said angularly disposed work surfaces, an integral latching member spaced from the plane of said head including an arm and a complementary opposed lug extending within an aperture of one of said work pieces and superimposing the work surface I in the vicinity of said aperture, said latching member having its lug bearing against one side of said work piece and its armbearing against the angularly disposed portion of said work piece, said plate-like head bearing against the opposite side of said work piecasaid plate-like headbeing flexed laterally and having its free margin positioned against the work surface disposed angularly with respect to said apertured work piece, the opposed margins of said plate-like head providing means for interlocking with a' work piece to be supported in superimposing relation with respect to said common line of juncture.

OUGLJESA JULES PQUPITCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATEN'IS 

